The arrested people included the chairman of Burundi Trade Unions’ Confederation (CSB), Gilbert Nyawakira. Pierre Nkurikiye, Police Spokesman, said two police officers, an army officer as well as a retired soldier were among the arrested people.”They were apprehended in a private home in Carama neighborhood, north of the capital Bujumbura,” said Nkurikiye adding that Carama residents have alerted the police that those people often meet in the same house and were worried their aim was to disrupt security.

“The arrested people were playing table tennis in a well-appointed house for that purpose. They all belong to the same table tennis team,” said a young woman from Carama adding that they have been meeting in that place to play table tennis for 2 years. “I am surprised by the fact that they are arrested now while they had just spent 2 years playing the same game in the same place without causing any trouble,”she adds.

“They were preparing for the ongoing Table Tennis Championship. That is the reason why they were so many, “she said.

“We know that they are table tennis players. They often meet there to play, “says Claude Nkunzimana, another resident of Carama.